The Dark Side of the Earth

£12.99

On April 12, 1961, the Soviet Union begins its countdown. From the steppes of Kazakhstan, the first human – Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin – launches into space. In that moment, another countdown begins. How could it be that a single generation – just three decades – would separate the USSR’s crowning achievement from the collapse of the Soviet empire? More than a history lesson, ‘The Dark Side of the Earth’ is a testament to the enduring fight for truth and freedom. In pursuit of the real story, renowned Kremlin opponent Mikhail Zygar gathered witness statements of jaw-dropping candour from hundreds of key players: the last first secretaries and first presidents of the post-Soviet republics, the leaders of independence movements, Western politicians and diplomats, and Mikhail Gorbachev himself.

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Description

A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Tells the story with a mordant eye, weaving together the disintegration of Mikhail Gorbachev's reformist ambitions, the implosion of the Soviet economy and the plight of ordinary people'
DOMINIC SANDBROOK

'Savage, comic and tragic . . . Brilliant' JOHN CRACE

Who won the Cold War? All my life I thought I knew the answer . . .

In 1961, the Soviet Union put the first man into space. By 1991, it had disappeared. How could just a single generation separate the apex of a civilisation from its collapse? And what remained stirring in its ruins?

Through the lives of that last generation, renowned Kremlin critic Mikhail Zygar reveals the truth about how everything came crashing down. A tale of epic hubris, told with jaw-dropping candour via the memories of its protagonists and victims, this is a masterpiece of narrative history, essential for understanding modern Russia.

'This is history as it should be: written like a novel and brimming with moral urgency. Extraordinary'
IAN DUNT

'Pointed, novel, and profoundly relevant' FOREIGN POLICY

'One of the most thoughtful Russian writers of our time . . . You may think you know how it all ends, but still, you simply can't put it down'
YULIA NAVALNAYA

Additional information

Dimensions 19.8 × 12.9 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

560

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

947.085 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K

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